The University of Wisconsin-Madison under the organization of Wunk Sheek and other partners will be celebrating Native November throughout the month. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.* See the full listing of events below. 
About Native American History Month
What started at the turn of the century as an effort to gain a day of recognition for the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S., has resulted in a whole month being designated for that purpose.
One of the very proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans” and for three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kans., formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens.
The year before this proclamation was issued, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, rode horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Indians. On December 14, 1915, he presented the endorsements of 24 state governments at the White House. There is no record, however, of such a national day being proclaimed. The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of New York. Several states celebrate the fourth Friday in September. In Illinois, for example, legislators enacted such a day in 1919.
Presently, several states have designated Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it continues to be a day we observe without any recognition as a national legal holiday. In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month”) have been issued each year since 1994.
Executive and Legislative Documents
The Law Library of Congress has compiled guides to commemorative observations, including a comprehensive inventory of the Public Laws, Presidential Proclamations and congressional resolutions related to Native American Heritage Month.
About this Site
This Web portal is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Other Dedicated Web Sites
UW-Madison’s Celebration
November 1st –30th – Month Long Dress/Tie Drive
All month long formal dresses and ties will be collected as part of a continuous tribal community
formal dress/tie drive we are hosting. These formal clothing items will be distributed to
Wisconsin tribal communities for school dances and events throughout the year. For every item donated you will be entered into a raffle for the grand prize $100 University Bookstore Gift Card, or other smaller prizes. Donations can be dropped off in 173 Bascom Hall. Presented by the American Indian Campus and Community Liaison, and Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc.-Lambda Chapter.
November 7th – Talking Circle: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
The epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) continues to spread across Indian
Country. Ac- cording to a report in Canada, while indigenous women make up only 4.3% of the total
female population, they represent 16% of all female homicide victims over more than three decades.
This month’s Talking Circle will focus on MMIW and what we as Badgers can do to help. Present- ed
by Wunk Sheek and the Office of the American Indian Campus and Community Liaison .
November 8th – Election Day
Don’t forget to vote!
November 9th- Wunk Sheek Weekly Meeting Multicultural Student Center Classroom 7:00pm
Open to everyone and food will be served.
November 10th – NACHP and WCCF Health Presentation
Virginia Harrison Parlor in Lathrop Hall 7:00 pm– 6:00pm -7:30 pm
Native American Center for Health Professions (NACHP) and the Wisconsin Council on Children and
Families (WCCF) will put on a collaborative presentation. They will be discussing health care in
general with specific attention to IHS, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act.
November 13th – 12th -Rock Your Mocs Week
Rock Your Mocs was founded by college student Jessica
“Jaylyn” Atsye of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico. The purpose of the event is for indigenous people to
stand to- gether worldwide, while recognizing tribal individuality. Rock your mocs wherever your
week brings you.
November 14th – “Protecting the Water: The Importance of the Protest at Standing Rock”
Union South Check TITU 4:00 pm– 6:00pm
Details not available at time of printing. Presented by American Indian Studies Department.
Family Dinner Night*
The Crossing 6:30 pm
Please Join Wunk Sheek and Slow Food UW as we host a community dinner celebrating Indigenous foods.
Din- ner will be prepared by Dan Cornelius, General Manager to Mobile Farmers Market, to celebrate
the diversity of indigenous communities and to fulfill the mission of Slow Food UW in providing
affordable access to good, clean, and fair food. Dinner is served at 6:30pm and is only $5 to
enjoy. Please bring your friends to the celebra- tion of Indigenous foods.
November 15th – Beading Workshop I Emily Nelis (Bad River Ojibwe)
Dejope Residence Hall- Yahara River Lounge
5:00 pm-7:00 pm
Come and learn the traditional style of applique beading. This style of beadwork uses glass beads
and will be ap- plied to several different types of material. All materials will be provided at no
cost. Snacks will be served. Pre- sented by UW Housing and Wunk Sheek.
November 16th – Wunk Sheek Weekly Meeting
Dejope Fire Circle, 7:00pm
Open to everyone and food will be served.
Slow Foods Café*
The Crossing, 11:30am – 2pm
Continue to celebrate indigenous foods week with Slow Food UW and Wunk Sheek in the student run
cafe. You can enjoy a selection of sandwiches, salads, soups and desserts crafted with local
ingredients. Meals are range from $5-$8, so please bring a friend and enjoy lunch at the Slow Foods
Cafe.
November 17th – Social Justice Speaker Series: Matika Wilbur (Swinomish/Tulalip)
Multicultural Student Center (MSC), 7:00pm
Matika Wilbur will be visiting as part of the MSC’s Social Justice Speaker Series. Matika Wilbur
is a Swinomish/Tulalip award-winning photographer from Washing- ton. Her current project is
photographing members of all 562 federally recognized tribes in the United States as part of
Project 562, which aims to shine light on contemporary Native American issues and culture.
Presented by
MSC.
November 18th – Indigenous Cooking Workshop
The Crossing, 2:30pm
Please join Wunk Sheek as we partner with Slow Food UW for their indigenous food week and host an
indigenous cooking workshop. On Friday November 18th, a Wunk Sheek alumnus will teach 20
participants how to prepare an indigenous cuisine, and discuss the importance of food in the
indigenous cuisine, and discuss the importance of food in the indigenous community.
November 29th – Beading Workshop I Emily Nelis (Bad River Ojibwe)
Dejope Residence Hall- Yahara River Lounge 5:00 pm-7:00 pm
Didn’t finish your beadwork from the first work shop or want to start a new project? This second
workshop will help you along the way. All materials will be provided at no cost, and snacks will be
served. Presented by Wunk Sheek and UW-Housing.
November 30th – Wunk Sheek Weekly Meeting
Multicultural Student Center Classroom, 7:00pm
Come join us for our last November Wunk Sheek meeting as we celebrate the ending of another
successful Native November. Open to everyone and food will be served.
For more information on Native November and future events please visit www.facebook/pathwaysai
Diversity.wisc.edu Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at UW_PathwaysAI